


Encryption Techniques for Fun and Enrichment

by bean_me_up



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Buffy is Alex's dog because reasons, Friendship, Project Shepherd, encryption, entry-level hackery, peripherally at best, sometimes bros text each other in code for fun and enrichment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:53:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25045690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bean_me_up/pseuds/bean_me_up
Summary: Kyle nods, looking up at Alex's hacker set-up, complete with multiple monitors displaying different windows, all in dark mode.  Apparently Alex's teenage fashion sense migrated to his computer display preferences."I understand absolutely none of what's on that screen," he says, gesturing at unintelligible letters and numbers in a window.  "Wanna give me a crash course?"Alex arches an eyebrow.  "A doctor and a hacker?"Kyle grins.  "Think that'll work as a pickup line?"That earns him an eye roll, but Alex grabs his phone to pull up a website.  "So if you want to encrypt a message. . . "
Relationships: Alex Manes & Kyle Valenti
Comments: 13
Kudos: 46





	Encryption Techniques for Fun and Enrichment

* * *

[part 0: brute force]

* * *

He thinks he's reached a meditative state of some sort. The world's gone fuzzy around him, and the only point of focus is the cooled cup of black coffee in front of him. He picks it up, takes a sip, lets room-temperature acidity wash over his tongue, turning unpleasantly bitter as he swallows. He puts the cup down, but picks it up again a second later, raising it to his mouth automatically.

"-le. _Kyle. KYLE_." He startles at the sound of Alex's voice, breaking his coffee-induced trance.

"Did you hear a word I just said?"

"No, I did not, no. I was contemplating this coffee, which is, in fact, awful."

Alex sighs. "I _said_ that my program's going to take a little while longer to run. I've been trying to crack this hidden folder on the hard drive, but turns out the sort of people who run a horrifying secret alien prison are _also_ the sort of people who pick strong passwords."

Kyle kicks the leg of Alex's chair lightly. He contemplates leaving and telling Alex to text him when his program's done running. He allows himself half a second to indulge in his fantasy of going home and sinking down into a soft mattress and fluffy pillows, waking up to morning sunshine instead of an alarm. But, just like there's no rest for the wicked, there's no rest for the sons of an alien conspiracy operation.

Besides, he owes it to Alex to keep him company. Staying up all night in a top-secret concrete bunker by yourself is sad. Staying up all night in a top-secret concrete bunker with a friend could be classified as a bonding activity.

He kicks Alex's chair again, letting the momentum spin his own chair around, slowly. "So what's this program of yours doing anyway?"

Alex runs a hand through his hair. "Mostly brute force. Mixed with a dictionary attack. Simple system, simple program."

"So why's it taking so long?" Kyle asks as his chair finally spins him back around to face Alex again, who's levelling him with a look that's equal parts annoyed and unimpressed.

"It's trying thousands of different combinations of letters, numbers, and special characters to try to guess the password. It'll take a while."

Kyle nods, looking up at Alex's hacker set-up, complete with multiple monitors displaying different windows, all in dark mode. Apparently Alex's teenage fashion sense migrated to his computer display preferences.

"I understand absolutely none of what's on that screen," he says, gesturing at unintelligible letters and numbers in a window. "Wanna give me a crash course?"

Alex arches an eyebrow. "A doctor _and_ a hacker?"

Kyle grins. "Think that'll work as a pickup line?"

That earns him an eye roll, but Alex grabs his phone to pull up a website. "So if you want to encrypt a message. . . "

* * *

[part 1: caesar cipher]

* * *

Kyle thought he'd left his homework days behind in Michigan, but when he gets a text from Alex one evening that is an entirely unintelligible scramble of letters, he sighs and pulls out his laptop. It's a Friday night, and he should probably just pretend like he hasn't seen the text and go to a bar or whatever else one does on a Friday night, but Kyle didn't get through med school by being a slacker.

He digs around in his laptop bag for the scrap of paper he'd taken notes on and runs through the list of ciphers Alex had given him. He considers his options. If Alex is being merciful, he's picked a Caesar cipher. If Alex isn't, then Kyle is about to spend his Friday night figuring out how to run a text message through Alex's program to analyze letter frequencies and repetition statistics.

He banks on mercy and pulls up a website that'll save him from doing the shifting by hand. He types in Alex's text carefully, then clicks through shifts until the message turns into English again. He grins and goes to grab his coat. Turns out he's spending tonight at a bar after all.

By the time he gets to the Pony, Alex is at a table with an empty bottle in front of him and a half-full one in his hand. He raises an unimpressed eyebrow. "You're late."

Kyle rolls his eyes, tossing his jacket on the chair opposite Alex. "You know, most people just text a place and time when they want to meet up."

Alex grins. "But where's the fun in that?"

* * *

[part 2: vigenère cipher]

* * *

Alex is decidedly less merciful the next time. It takes Kyle over an hour to figure out what Alex has sent him, and he stares at his computer screen in confusion when he sees it's a list of films and a recipe for brownies. He may or may not spend another hour trying to see if there's a hidden message in the ingredients or measurements. He tries converting the numbers in the recipe to ASCII values, experiments with putting all the capital letters together to see if they form a sentence, and even checks for Morse code hidden in the dots and dashes littered throughout the text.

Nothing.

He goes back to the original key and decrypted message, then realizes with a start that the key, a series of numbers, is Alex's house number followed by 9PM in military time. Kyle checks his watch and figures he has enough time to pick up ice cream on his way to Alex's.

* * *

[part 3: steganography]

* * *

"I hate you."

Alex barely even glances up at Kyle's declaration, just hums as he scans another decrypted file. Kyle hadn't stepped foot in the bunker for a while, caught between far too many long shifts at the hospital and Alex spending more time at his _actual_ job than his side-gig as a hacker. "And why's that?"

Kyle huffs as he plops into a chair and shoves his phone in Alex's face. "The _stupid_ stegosaurus you sent me this morning," he says, accusingly.

Alex turns to look at him. "I gave you a _hint."_

Kyle throws his hands in the air disbelievingly. "You want to know how long I stared at this goddamned dinosaur picture before I realized you'd used steganography to hide a message in it?"

"I thought it was obvious!"

"I had just gotten off a fourteen hour shift when I got your message. And then I spent the next _forty-five minutes_ looking at the scale patterns on a fucking dinosaur --"

Alex's grin is wicked. "Did you like my message?"

Kyle makes a face at him. "I regret ever telling you my childhood nickname."

"It was the passcode for another set of files," Alex shrugs.

"So you decided to give me shit via secret dinosaur photo encryption?"

"Absolutely."

* * *

[part 4: morse code]

* * *

Kyle is enjoying a rare lazy morning, taking his time to taste his coffee rather than inhale it. Which is, of course, when he gets a text from Alex. Another encoded message this time, but this one is easy. Three dots. Three dashes. Three dots again. S. O. S.

He sighs.

Alex wouldn't bother with Morse code if he was really in danger, but the Rules of Friendship dictate that he assist, so Kyle glances mournfully at the box of sugary cheat-day cereal taunting him from his countertop, and goes to find a pair of real pants.

Precisely sixteen minutes later, he's knocking at Alex's door.

Alex answers shirtless, hair in disarray, eyeliner smudged under just one eye, with a frantic energy about him. Kyle raises an eyebrow. "Where's the fire?"

Alex doesn't say a word, instead pulling Kyle by the wrist into his bedroom, where it looks like a tornado has flung clothing across every available surface. He gestures helplessly at the closet. "Help."

Kyle grins. "I hope you know that you're living in a teen movie."

"Isobel pulled some strings and I'm supposed to play at Bean Me Up in an hour." He checks his watch again and cards a hand through his hair again.

"Relax." Kyle is already digging through Alex's closet. "We'll get you ready with time to spare." He considers his options, then pulls out a flannel shirt, squares of sapphire blue overlapping shades of gray and black and tosses it at Alex's head. "Okay put this on, then sit down so I can fix your hair."

Alex complies, then sits still as Kyle brushes his hair down, then messes it back up again with some product. He wrinkles his nose. "You're making my hair messy again."

"Yes, but on purpose this time."

Alex rolls his eyes as Kyle studies his face appraisingly. "What."

"Eyeliner on or off? You look like half a raccoon right now."

Alex tosses a rejected shirt at him, aiming for his face. "Couldn't get it right, so off, I guess."

"Want me to try?"

Alex eyes him dubiously. "Since when do _you_ know anything about makeup?"

Kyle uncaps the eyeliner pencil and leans down. "I am a man of many talents. Plus, steady hands." He wiggles his fingers to punctuate his point, then carefully starts lining Alex's eyes. "So, you've performed before at the Pony. Why the stress now?"

Alex shifts, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt. "This is different. It's not an open mic, it's just me on stage, singing for an hour." He drops his hands. " _Plus,_ everyone will be sober this time."

Kyle hums. "You've got a good voice. People will love you, I promise."

"This feels like a test. Whether or not I really should be pursuing music."

"I'm 100% sure you'll pass." He caps the pencil when he's done and tosses it back onto the dresser. "Alright, stand up, let's look at you."

Alex stands and gives a sarcastic twirl. Kyle makes some minute adjustment to his hair, brushes invisible lint off his shoulders, and unbuttons an extra button on the shirt before steering Alex out the door. "Let's go, your adoring fans await."

* * *

[part 5: plain text]

* * *

Kyle is all set up for a perfect Saturday afternoon. He got home from work at noon, took a nap, and now he's making his way through a pizza and six pack. There's a game on, Michigan's _definitely_ going to win this one, and he's got no obligations, alien or otherwise, until Monday morning.

Which is, of course when he gets a text from Alex telling him to come to his front door. He drags his feet to see if Alex is actually there. It's a 60/40 chance it's another code of some sort.

As he undoes the latch he hears scratching of some sort and wonders what the hell Alex is doing to his door. Kyle pulls it open to reveal Alex standing there with a smile on his face and a leash in his hand, and ah yes, that would explain the scratching.

Kyle immediately bends down to shower the beagle puppy with affection, laughing as she proceeds to lick his face enthusiastically. She's tiny, but energetic, practically climbing onto him in her excitement. Alex, feeling a little forgotten, clears his throat. Kyle picks up the puppy and stands back up, scratching her behind the ears. "She's _adorable._ What's her name?"

Alex grins. "Buffy," he says, fully expecting Kyle's responding eye roll at the nerdy name.

Kyle nods, turning and starting back into the house, Buffy still in his arms. "It was good seeing you. We have a game to watch."

Alex makes an offended noise. "You're _replacing_ me?"

" _Fine,_ I guess you can join us."

"Kyle, that's _my_ dog."

"I _said_ you can join us. Beer's in the fridge."

Alex grabs two and snags a bottle opener off the counter, bringing it all to the couch where Kyle and Buffy have cuddled up. "So, do we _have_ to watch football? Because I feel like Buffy should experience her namesake."

"Absolutely _not._ "

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hello on [tumblr](https://stars-and-sunshine.tumblr.com/)!


End file.
